Hi Guys and Gals - My husband and I are shortly to be arriving on the Costa Del Sol and we are wondering how you all cope with the heat. Does anyone know what the temperature is likely to be this year? We imagine that it will be necessary to say in during the day. Is it necessary to have air conditioning? If so is it expensive? Are houses built to withstand the heat/stay cool? Are stone houses better? Presumably it would be better to live by the coast... Thanks for your comments.

you can search for the town you are going to on this weather site

you can also look at history for last year - but of course who knows what will happen this year?

yes, it is usually cooler on the coast

Don't try and live an English life.

In the hot weather, keep the windows open all night (with mozzie screens) and shut them tight first thing. Keep doors shut all day as the air can feel like a fan assisted oven, and it will warm the inside of the house which will then cook you at night. Get acclimatised, be sensible, do hard work first and last thing, and never let the sun shine into the house.

I partly grew up in very hot weather year round (think Darwin, Oz) and my suggestion is keep a fan in every room of your house and use it a lot. We always have had our windows open to let the breeze in and circulate the air, and the fans helped loads.

That is no good when the breeze is like a hairdryer.

Who's going to be the first to point out that summer is a breeze - it's winter that's the killer?

Like we say, don't let the breeze in the house at all, as it will heat up the core of the building. The trick is to keep the core as cool as poss.

Don't forget, in a closed room, a fan will actually warm the room.

Even on the coast you can expect 35 degrees in high summer, if you can, get a place with air con , inverters are best, if it's your own place, get them fitted. Do your shopping as soon as the shops open in the morning, get home and stay indoors with the aircon on, use ceiling fans at night in the bedroom, or aircon. Good quality inverter aircon isn't that expensive, and the good part is that it can be used as a heater in winter.

It does, but moving hot air feels better than still hot air

But yes closing all the windows, with drawing the black drapes helps a bunch. Though you'll be living in a batcave but at least you'll be cool

the place we have brought has an air con unit and we have a portable one to bring out as well so should be ok

How many €'s per (I assume kWh?) is electricity in your area?

we are not sure yet about the cost of electricity but will find out more when we are out late april

On the normal domestic tariff it is just over €0.14/Kwh (including taxes).

You need to have a portable one that has a ducted exhaust, so you can send the waste aair out of the apartment, otherwise you will be filling your place with the water vapour.

Come to Oz mate, you'll fit right in!